GEORGE FRIEND hopes the core of Middlesbrough’s squad will remain intact despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League, and is calling for a repeat of the spirited response to 2015’s dispiriting play-off final defeat to Norwich City.

Two years ago, Boro were left heartbroken at Wembley as their hopes of a place in the top-flight were left in tatters, but they regrouped successfully the following summer and went on to win automatic promotion under Aitor Karanka.

It remains to be seen who will be in charge of the club next season, but their immediate task will be to secure another top-two finish and Friend sees no reason why that cannot be achieved provided there is not too much change in the close season.

Some departures are inevitable, with Alvaro Negredo and Calum Chambers set to return to their parent club at the end of their loan deals and the likes of Victor Valdes, Ben Gibson, Gaston Ramirez and Adama Traore likely to attract interest from elsewhere.

Friend could be one of the players offered a move away from the Riverside, but the popular full-back remains fully committed to Middlesbrough and is hoping for a degree of stability in the next few months.

“It is important every season to try and keep the basis of the squad together, and to learn and get better,” said Friend, who was forced to fight back tears as he left Stamford Bridge on Monday night in the wake of Boro’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea.

“It reminds me of the Wembley play-off final. We weren’t good enough then on the day, just as we weren’t good enough now. As then, we have to come back stronger and better, and get promoted again.

“I haven’t been thinking about next season because I always had the belief (Boro would survive), especially after the Sunderland result and Man City performance. You have to believe, and stranger things have happened in this league over the years, but now we are down so you can’t help but look forward. 

“You have to look positively going into next year. Look at where the club was five years ago, seven years ago. We are in a very strong position, but we have to learn from this.”

Boro still boast the core of the squad that secured promotion last season, but their collective failings were all too evident as they managed to win just five of their 36 matches before relegation was confirmed.

Perhaps Aitor Karanka’s tactics were too conservative, perhaps the players were simply not good enough – either way, there will have to be changes to ensure the same mistakes are not repeated when Boro return to the Championship next season.

This time last year, there was unbridled optimism about Boro’s prospects in the top-flight. Twelve months on, and some fundamental changes are obviously required.

“We never did ourselves justice,” admitted Friend. “We never at any point really went on a good run. We never performed to our best.

“At the start of the season, I knew we had more than that. At the start of the season, I looked at our squad and thought there were definitely three teams worse than us. But when it comes to it, you have to perform and we haven’t done that.

“We weren’t consistent enough. Look at Burnley and their home record - that’s what’s kept them up. We have to give that to them, and look and learn from that.”

Like his fellow defender, Gibson, Friend has pulled no punches when it comes to attributing blame for this season’s failings. He freely admits the players have under-performed, and accepts there have been collective errors that have proved costly throughout the campaign.

“It hurts me,” he said. “It hurts all of the team - and not just the players. There are so many people who have worked so hard and so of course relegation hurts. To get up, and then throw it away.

“It hasn’t been an enjoyable year, I think the fans will agree with that. There was so much anticipation for this season, so crashing down is hard to take. It’s a step backwards but hopefully we’ll take two forwards from this and when we get promoted again next year, we will be stronger and know a bit more about what we are doing.”

Meanwhile, Boro have rejected a request from MLS side Atlanta United to release goalkeeper Brad Guzan before the end of the season.

Guzan has agreed to return to his homeland to join Atlanta in the MLS’ summer transfer window in July, but with Boro’s relegation having been confirmed, Atlanta officials made an attempt to bring the deal forward to enable the shot-stopper to move ahead of this week’s early-season deadline.

Boro turned down their approach though, with Guzan set to be involved in the final two games of the current campaign against Southampton and Liverpool in the continued absence of the injured Valdes.